Random chairs in a country Victorian woolshed; I liked how the two chairs stacked together reminded me of a couple, with one sitting on the other’s lap. Taken a couple of years ago, found in my drafts today!
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The Master Shearer: a quiet Saturday afternoon shear
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Dennis has been shearing all his life, as well as running his own farm (sheep for wool and fat lambs, a few head of cattle, some cropping – even pigs and dairy cows in the past). Now, in his 70s, he still drops into the sling sometimes to get the wool off. Lucky me, to be allowed in with my camera!
Mt Pleasant Farmers Market: rapt attention
Last month I enjoyed a Saturday morning wandering around the Mt Pleasant Farmers Market in South Australia’s Adelaide Hills. Following a tasty market-style egg & bacon roll, we strolled around to see what was on offer; this was no disappointment: there was everything from a plant stall, fresh meats, pesticide-free vegetables, bread products, a stall selling honeycomb-flavoured honey, a tea blender, tempting pastries, a face painter, and much more.
I enjoyed listening to this talented musician, seated in a shaft of sunlight at one end of the pavilion, who had these two little kids in his thrall. (Me too, actually.)
Congratulations to the hard-working team and community of supporters who have created such a successful country market.
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Lonely, I Stand: the reliability of chimneys
Chimneys have always had the most reliable longevity of above-ground structures in houses, and I have always been intrigued by the presence of a chimney that has held its ground long after the rest of the house has crumbled to the ground.
I was pleased to have been able to enhance the sun in this photo, which shows how this place really felt on the day – a bit lonely and eerie.
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Identify This Car: who recognises the make and model?
With a lack of any badges to help me identify this derelict sedan, I’m at a loss; can anyone tell me what this is? (Not the one in the background – I know what that is!)
Please click image full size to identify car.
A Car Beyond: (beyond what? What’s beyond??)
Silly questions, really – but as I wrote the title for this post, I wondered for a moment in what way I meant it; was I referring the condition of the car in the foreground – or to the car beyond it, in the background?
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Beyond the Wheel: ruined landscape
Oh goody, my favourite! another ruined landscape to investigate with my lens.
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The Trees Below: Toolondo Reservoir in winter
Many years ago, before a decade of drought hit the Wimmera hard, Toolondo Reservoir was a popular lake for boating, fishing, and camping. A friend remembers skiing only a few feet above the top branches of trees that had been flooded decades earlier to create the reservoir – a surreal experience, no doubt. This photo – rotated 180 degrees from the original – made me think of that tale, and of the unsettled feeling I get whenever I think of an area being flooded (remember the scene in O Brother Where Art Thou where the valley is flooded to become a dam?)
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Praying Mantis: a botched macro attempt
One of the things I miss most about my Olympus XZ-1 is its fantastic super macro mode, which allowed a focus of around 1cm from your subject. The kit lens on my Olympus E-PL3 doesn’t have any kind of macro facility, which is lamentable. Recently I decided to splash out and buy a longer zoom, which I have been forcing myself to use ever since – not with a great deal of pleasure, it must be said.
Anyway, I had only this lens with me when I spotted this praying mantis, and decided to try it out for macro…not successfully. Despite its light weight, it’s still too long at it’s furthest extension to be easy for me to hold steady. And, of course, the image quality suffers terribly at that length anyway.
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Rusty Car Door: colourfully derelict
The rich hues of rusted and lichen-encrusted car panels is a thing of joy to me – sure, a car that’s been fully restored with impeccable paintwork is lovely, but there’s something so softly beautiful about the ravages of time.
Another thing that has always intrigued me (ever since there was a busted-up Land Rover in my childhood back yard) is the pebbling of smashed automotive glass.
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precious ruthless captures 